A 14-year-old boy shot and killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. The shooter, Colt Gray, was apprehended and will be tried as an adult. The incident sparked renewed debate on gun control in the US.
14-Year-Old Charged in Deadly Georgia School Shooting at Apalachee High School
A 14-year-old boy opened fire at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, on Wednesday, killing two students and two teachers, and injuring nine others. This tragic incident marks the first mass shooting at a U.S. school since the start of the academic year.
Shooter Identified as Colt Gray
The suspect, Colt Gray, 14, had been previously questioned by law enforcement last year over online threats related to a potential school shooting. He was apprehended shortly after the attack. According to Chris Hosey, director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, Gray will be charged and tried as an adult.
Incident Details
Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith reported that the gunman, armed with a semiautomatic rifle, was quickly confronted by deputies at the school and surrendered immediately. The victims were identified as two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, and two teachers, Richard Aspinwall, 39, and Christina Irimie, 53. All nine individuals who were injured are expected to recover.
Sheriff Smith described the incident as “pure evil.”
Prior Threats and FBI Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation had investigated online threats of a school shooting in 2023, leading to an interview with a 13-year-old boy and his father in nearby Jackson County. While the FBI did not name the teenager, Georgia officials later confirmed it was related to Colt Gray. The father mentioned having hunting guns in the house but claimed his son did not have unsupervised access to them. Due to a lack of probable cause, no arrest was made at that time.
The motives behind the shooting remain unclear, as investigators believe Gray acted alone.